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THE 

Stassfurt  Industry 


Published  By 

GERMAN  KALI  WORKS, 

NEW  YORK,  N.  Y.  ATLANTA,  GA.  '  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

^^  Nassau  Street.  1224  Candler  Building.     562  Monadnock  Block. 


NOTICE. 

Every  farmer   ca7i    obtain^  free  of  charge,  a  copy  oj  the 
following  agricultural  books: 

Peinciples  of  Profitable  Farming, 

Potash  in  Agriculture, 

Farmer's  Guide, 

Farmers'  Note  Book, 

Cotton  Culture, 

Tobacco  Culture, 

Orange  Culture, 

Strawberry  Culture, 

Tropical  Planting, 

Fertilizing  Tobacco, 

Sugar  Cane  Culture, 

The  Cow  Pea, 

Plant  Food, 

Truck  Farming, 

Why  The  Fish  Failed, 

State    which    of   the    above    mentioned  publications  you 
desire,  and  it  will  be  mailed  to  you,  free  of  charge. 

ADDRESS: 

GERMAN  KALI  WORKS, 

NEW  YORK,  ATLANTA,  GA.,  CHICAGO,   ILLS,, 

93  Nassau  Street,  1224  Candler  Bldg.,  562  Monadnock  Blk., 

HAVANA,  CUBA. 
Empedrado  30 


PREFACE- 


THOUSANDS  of  American  farmers  use  potash,  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  them  should  use  it,  both  for 
their  own  present  and  future  profit  and  to  prevent  their 
posterity  from  receiving  a  heritage  of  "worn  out"  soils. 
But  ashes — once  the  most  common  sourch  of  potash — are  no 
longer  to  be  had  in  quantity.  Our  forests  are  now  cleared 
and  the  ash  heap  of  the  pioneer  is  a  thing  of  the  past,  while 
wood  as  a  fuel  for  factories  and  railroads  has  been  replaced 
by  coal  and  oil.     Where,  then,  shall  we  turn? 

Man  seldom  feels  a  pressing  and  continuous  need  which 
Nature  does  not  meet — and  such  has  been  the  case  with 
potash.  Whithin  the  fifty  years  which  measure  alike  a 
rapidly  increasing  demand  for  it  and  the  practical  dis- 
appearance of  the  old  source  of  supply,  there  has  been 
found,  in  one  of  Nature's  storehouses,  an  inexhaustible 
accumulation  of  potash.  To  the  discovery  of  the  deposit 
the  term  fortunate  can  be  applied,  since  it  came  in  time  to 
meet  need;  but  the  storing  of  the  potash,  when  one  con- 
siders the  importance  of  this  element,  for  the  welfare  of  our 


fields  and  its  necessity  in  maintaining  the  food  supply  for 
the  rapidly  increasing  mouths  of  the  world,  the  storing  we 
must  call  Providential.  The  process  of  Nature,  by  which 
this  accumulation  was  made  possible,  are  marvellous,  and 
the  methods  which  man  has  devised  to  utilize  the  store  and 
convert  it  into  forms  best  suited  to  the  diverse  requirements 
of  his  fellows  are  ingenious.  The  many  inquries  which 
arise  concerning  potash  in  its  varied  forms,  prove  that  its 
users  are  interested  in  its  history;  therefore,  this  little 
sketch  has  been  prepared  to  meet  the  friendly  wishes  of 
those  who  already  appreciate  potash.  The  story  is  interest- 
ing and  those  who  read  it  will  derive  pleasure  and  profit. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

STASSFURT,  near  the  Harz  mountains  in  northern 
Germany,  has  been,  for  many  centuries,  noted  for  its 
salt  works.  There,  in  the  early  days  of  history,  common 
salt  was  obtained  by  evaporating  the  water  from  its  salt 
springs,  and  later,  from  its  wells.  When  mines  of  rock  salt 
were  discovered  in  other  places,  the  evaporation  process 
was  abandoned  partly  because  the  brine  from  the  springs 
and  wells,  generally  contained,  beside  table  salt,  the  salts  of 
potash  and  magnesia.  Adout  fifty  years  ago,  the  Prussian 
Government  which  owned  the  mines,  began  boring  for  rock 
salt,  and  in  1857  found  it  in  immense  quantities  at  Stass- 
furt,  1,080  feet  below  the  surface.  Immediately  above  this 
rock  salt  are  deposits  of  various  potash  and  magnesia 
minerals,  at  first  considered  of  little  value  and  actually 
thrown  away  as  worthless,  but  later  to  supply  the  world 
with  potash.  The  agricultural  value  of  potash  became 
generally  known  in  i860,  through  the  researches  of  that 
eminent  scientist,  Prof.  Justus  von  Liebig,  and  in  1861  the 
first  factory  for  refining  crude  potash  minerals  was  estab- 
lished at  Stassfurt.  Stimulated  by  the  success  attained  in 
the  use  of  potash  as  a  fertilizer,  the  industry  of  mining  and 
manufacturing  its  salts  has  grown  to  enormous  proportions; 
new  deposits  have  been  discovered  and  mines  opened,  until 
to-day  there  are  about  45  large  mining  establishments  in 
active  operations. 


ORIGIISr  OF  THE  STASSFURT  SALT 
AND  POTASH  DEPOSITS, 

The  Stassfurt  salt  and  potash  beds  were  formed  (or 
deposited)  in  ancient,  geologic  times.  Long  before  history 
began,  these  minerals  were  laid  in  place  by  the  evaporation 
of  sea  water  confined  in  lakes,  which,  somewhat  like  the 
Dead  Sea  and  Baikal  Lakes,  were  without  outlet.  These 
were  connected,  however,  with  the  ocean  by  channels,  or- 
dinarily dry,  but  through  which  the  sea  water  was  forced 
at  times  by  great  storms  and  tides.  In  this  way  fresh  sup- 
plies of  salt  were  received  into  these  lakes,  and  as  the  cli- 
mate of  Europe  was  tropical  during  this  formative  period, 
the  surface  evaporation  of  the  water  was  exceedingly  rapid. 
As  the  water  levels  of  these  lakes  thus  sank,  fresh  supplies 
washed  in  from  the  sea,  holding  in  solution  then,  as  now, 
many  salts.  Evaporation  carries  off  only  pure  water,  so,  in 
course  of  time,  as  more  salts  were  entering  the  lakes  and 
none  going  out,  the  water  became  saturated  with  salts  until 
those  least  soluble  in  water  began  to  separate  from  the  more 
soluble  ones  and  deposit  themselves  in  more  or  less  uniform 
strata.  By  such  continued  evaporation  and  ever  increasing 
concentration,  immense  layers  of  rock  salt  and  anhydrite 
(sulphate  of  lime)  were  formed. 

As  the  rock  salt  separated  and  the  concentration  became 
greater,  other  more  soluble  salts  began  to  deposit  and  cover 


Origin  of  the  spassfurt  salt  and  potash  deposits.     7 

it ,  layer  upon  layer,  up  through  the  mineral  polyhalite,  which 
is  composed  of  sulphate  of  lime,  potash  and  magnesia, 
— kieserit,  which  is  sulphate  of  magnesia, — and  the"  potash 
region,"  the  stratum  of  carnallit,  a  compound  of  chlorides 
of  potassium  and  magnesium.  This  last  named  stratum 
ranges  from  50  to  130  feet  in  thickness,  and  supplies  the 
crude  salts  from  which  the  most  important  and  concentrated 
potash  salts  are  refined. 

From  thus  referring  to  strata  it  does  not  follow  that 
these  deposits  are  in  smooth,  clear-cut  layers.  From  time  to 
time,  as  additional  water  came  in  from  the  sea,  the  lake  water 
became  so  diluted  that  precipitation  was  arrested  to  a 
certain  extent,  and,  later  had  to  commence  again;  thus 
anhydrite  is  found  in  the  rock  salt  strata,  and  seams  of  rock 
salt  in  the  polyhalit  and  other  upper  layers.  Potash  and 
magnesia  salts  are  the  most  soluble  and,  therefore,  naturally 
found  at  the  tops  of  the  deposits. 

Had  these  deposits  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  rain 
water  they  would  have  been  dissolved,  but  they  were  pro- 
tected during  geologic  changes  by  a  covering  of  "  salt  clay," 
impervious  to  water.  Above  this  salt  clay  roof  occurs  a  de- 
posit of  anhydrite  beneath  a  second  deposit  of  rock  salt,  —  a 
later  formation  and  probably  of  recent  origin,  geologically 
speaking.  The  depth  of  the  Stassfurt  salt  deposit,  from 
the  top  of  the  upper  to  the  bottom  of  the  lowest  stratum  is 
some  5,000 feet.  The  beds  underlie  the  extensive  country 
reaching  approximately  to  Thuringia  on  the  south,  to 
Hanover  on  the  west  and  to  Mecklenburg  on  the  north. 


8       ORIGIN    OF    THE    STASSFURT   SALT   AND   POTASH    DEPOSITS. 

These  deposits,  in  the  order  of  their  placing,  follow  well 
understood  physical  and  chemical  laws;  and  yet  local  con- 
ditions and  geologic  disturbances  fixed  the  relative  positions 
of  strata  and  account  for  more  or  less  apparent  disturbances 
as  shown  by  the  diagram.  At  a  few  places  surface  water 
found  access  through  cracks  or  fissures,  and  either  carried 
away  the  potash  salts  or  changed  them  into  secondar}^  pro- 
ducts; from  which  action  in  the  upper  strata  occur  beds  of 
kainit,  sylvinit,  hartsalz  and  other  compounds  of  less  im- 
portance. 

This  description,  somewhat  tedious  to  unscientific 
readers,  becomes  of  surpassing  interest  when  the  enormous 
importance  of  the  formation  is  considered.  But  for  these 
peculiar  conditions  at  Stassfurt  (conditions  generally  termed 
accidental)  these  potash  deposits  could  not  have  been 
formed;  and  vast  tracts  of  agricultural  lands,  now  made 
fertile  and  productive  by  the  use  of  potash  from  this  in- 
exhaustible store,  would  be  sterile  and  barren  for  want  of  it. 
There  is  no  question  as  to  this  scientific  fact,  and  thoughtful 
readers  may  well  again  peruse  the  story  of  these  wonderful 
deposits  and  question  whether  a  formation — all  but  a 
creation — of  such  importance  to  the  human  race,  can  be 
considered  a  mere  chance, — a  simple  accident  of  nature. 


SECTIOxNf    OF    POTASH    SALT    MINE    SHAFT    "  LUDVVIG    II 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  SALTS. 

Salt  is  the  chemical  name  for  a  compound  composed  of 
an  add  joined  to,  or  combined  with,  a  base.  For  example, 
burnt  lime  is  a  base,  which,  in  combination  with  sulphuric 
add,  forms  a  sal^  called  sulphate  of  lime;  similarly  the  dase 
sodium  combined  with  hydrochloric  acid  forms  the  sal^ 
sodium  chloride.  This  last  is  the  compound  to  which, 
popularly,  the  word  "  salt  "  is  applied,  for  sodium  chloride 
is  our  common  table  salt,  but  chemically  the  term  is  a 
general  name  for  compounds  produced  as  described  above. 
The  Stassfurt  deposits  contain  various  salts  and  com- 
binations of  salts,  many  of  which  contain  little  or  no  potash. 
The  following  list  gives  those  most  important  as  potash 
producers,  with  their  mineral  names,  and  chemical  formulae; 

Carnallit,  KCl,  MgCl2,  6H2O. 

Kainit,  K2SO4.  MgCb,  6H2O. 

Sylvinit,  KCl,  NaCl,  K2SO4,  MgS04,  MgCb,  6H2O. 

Hartsalz,  KCl,  NaCl,  MgS04,  H2O. 

Upwards  of  thirty  different  minerals  are  found  in  the 
Stassfurt  deposits,  of  which  some  twelve  contain  more  or 
less  potash.  The  four  above  named  yield  the  main  supply 
of  commercial  potash,  and  of  these  the  first  three  are  most 
important. 

Carnallit,  which  is  the  chief  source  of  muriate  of  potash 
and  other  concentrated  salts,  usually    occurs  mixed  with 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  SALTS.  II 

rock  salt  and  other  minerals  in  layers  averaging  more  than 
85  feet  in  thickness.  The  color  varies,  and  shades  through 
white,  bright  to  dark  red,  yellow,  and  light  to  dark  gray,  to 
a  watery  hue.  In  a  strong  clear  light  the  brilliancy  of 
carnallit  crystals  and  their  varied  colorings  give  to  its,  mine 
galleries  a  strikingly  beautiful  effect.  Carnallit  as  mined 
contains  about  9  per  cent,  of  actual  potash.  In  its  crude 
state  it  is  used  as  a  fertilizer  only  in  localities  which  are 
not  very  far  from  the  mines;  because  from  its  property  of 
absorbing  water,  and  its  bulk  as  compared  with  the  small 
percentage  of  potash  which  it  contains,  it  is  more  expensive 
than  the  concentrated  salts,  where  cartage  or  freight  has 
to  be  considered.  The  deposit  of  carnalit  is  generally  in- 
tersected by  rock  salt  and  often  by  other  minerals,  and  is 
so  vast  in  extent  as  to  be  practically  inexhaustable. 

Kainit,  a  mineral  compound  of  the  sulphates  of  potash 
and  magnesia  with  magnesium  chloride,  is  not  found  in  the 
same  abundance  as  carnallit,  but  nevertheless  in  such 
quantities  as  to  meet  all  probable  needs  for  many  gen- 
erations to  come.  It  occurs  in  large,  irregular  deposits, 
and,  as  mined,  is  usually  red  and  more  or  less  mixed  with 
rock  salt,  of  which  it  contains  about  30  per  cent.  In  its 
crude  state  it  is  largely  used  as  a  fertilizer,  after  being 
crushed  and  ground,  and  contains  at  least  12.4  per  cent, 
actual  potash  (K2O).  This  percentage  of  potash  in  kainit 
is  guaranteed,  but  the  materials  with  which  it  is  mixed  or 
blended  differ  more  or  less  according  to  circumstances. 
Most  of  the  kainit  mined  is  sold  in  its  natural  state  for 


12  DESCRIPTION   OF  THE  SALTS. 

fertilizing  purposes,  although  a  considerable  part  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  high  grade  sulphate  of  potash  and  other 
concentrated  products. 

In  some  mines,  especially  those  more  recently  opened, 
instead  of  kainit  is  found  the  so-called  hartsalz  or  hardsalt, 
a  mixture  of  muriate  of  potash  (sylvine),  kieserit  and  rock 
salt.  Hartsalz  shows  much  the  same  chemical  composition 
as  kainit,  and  though  differing  from  it  in  chemical  structure, 
is,  for  most  purposes,  identical  with  it. 

Sylvinit,  although  of  more  recent  introduction  than 
either  carnallit  or  kainit,  like  carnallit  is  not  generally  sold 
in  the  United  States,  is  in  the  main,  a  mixiure  of  sodium 
and  potassium  chloride  or  rather,  of  sylvine  and  rock  salt 
with  a  little  kainit  and  contains,  on  an  average,  14  to  18 
per  cent,  actual  potash  in  the  form  of  chloride  (muriate). 
It  is  finely  ground  for  use  as  a  fertilizer,  or  is  manufactured 
into  concentrated  potash  salts. 

Of  these  four  crude  potash  salts  only  kainit  and  hartsalz 
are  used  in  the  United  States;  On  account  of  the  freight 
rates  the  results  obtained  from  the  concentrated  forms  of 
potash  pay  better.  Kainit  is  extensively  used  in  the  Coast 
Line  States,  not  only  as  a  fertilizer,  but  also  as  a  manure 
preservative,  to  check  attacks  of  injurious  insects,  and  as  a 
remedy  against  cotton  disease  (blight).  For  such  purposes 
it  is  cheap  and  satisfactory  and  likely  to  be  used  in  in- 
creasing quantities. 


MINING  THE  SALTS, 

The  potash-bearing  strata,  from  1,200  to  2,500  feet  below 
the  earth's  surface,  are  reached  by  ordinary  mine  shafts. 
In  sinking  these  shafts,  great  care  is  taken  to  preserve  un- 
broken the  cap  materials  impervious  to  water,  and  thus  to 
prevent  the  highly  soluble  potash-bearing  salts  from  being 
rapidly  leached  or  washed  away  by  the  surface  waters. 
This  inflow  of  water  is  made  impossible  by  sinking  iron 
tubes  or  lining  the  shafts  with  concrete.  Water  is  the 
great  danger  in  potash  mining,  and  has  destroyed  valuable 
mines.  Generally  potash  mines  have  a  reserve  or  emerg- 
ency shaft,  some  distance  from  the  working  shaft,  protected 
by  strong  safety -pi  liars.  Another  mining  difficulty  is  the 
' '  pillaring  ' '  or  supporting  the  mine-roof  as  its  mineral 
supports  are  cut  away.  Formerly  pillars  of  salt  were  left 
for  this  purpose,  but  they  disintegrated  so  rapidly  as  to  be 
dangerous,  and  the  safer  system  was  adopted  of  completely 
filling  up  the  excavations  with  the  waste  salts  and  rock 
salt.  Within  the  mines,  potash  salts  are  broken  down  by 
blasting  as  in  ordinary  mining.  In  man}-  of  the  works, 
electricity  is  used  for  motor  power  and  in  lighting.  The 
mines  are  necessarly  kept  perfectly  dry,  and  visitors  are 
free  from  the  inconvenience  and  discomfort  usual  to  under- 
ground workings.  The  carnallit  blastings  tear  off  large 
blocks  which  are  broken  up  by  the  miners  and  transported 
in  small  cars  to  the  shafts,  thence  to  be  hoisted  to  the  sur- 
face and  delivered  to  the  chemical  works  for  grinding  and 
further  treatment. 


MANUFACTURING  THE  CONCENTRATED 

SALTS* 


As  has  been  intimated,  at  the  mine-mouths  are  extensive 
and  completely  equipped  chemical  works  which  refine  the 
crude  salts  and  separate  their  constituents  into  products 
best  suited  to  the  various  chemical  industries.  A  most  im- 
portant feature  of  the  refining  is  the  reduction  in  weight 
by  rejecting  useless  constituents  of  the  salts,  thus  securing 
the  valuable  potash  in  a  small  bulk;  an  essential  consider- 
ation for  the  man  who  pays  the  freight  or  handles  the 
products.  Yet  to  refine  closely  is  an  expensive  process, 
and  much  study  and  great  care  are  necessary  to  balance 
properly  the  amount  of  concentration  against  the  diverse 
uses  and  the  cost  of  shipping  and  handling  the  various 
materials.  In  estimating  the  quantity  of  potash  in  the 
different  products,  chemists  are  accustomed  to  make  use 
of  the  term  *'  actual  potash,"  that  is,  oxide  of  potassium 
(K2O).  The  object  of  this  is  to  establish  a  basis  of  com- 
parison of  all  potash  salts;  therefore,  when  ''potash"  is 
named  in  potash  products,  it  is  understood  that  the  word 
refers  to  the  amount  of  actual  potash  present,  and  not  the 
quantity  of  sulphate  or  muriate  of  potash,  as  the  case  may 
be.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  potash  is  not  sold  commonly  in 
the  form  of  "actual  potash"  (K2O),  but   as  sulphate  of 


MANUFACTURING  THE  CONCENTRATED  SALTS.       29 

potash,  muriate  of  potash,  sulphate  of  potash-magnesia, 
etc.  Sulphate  of  potash  is  simply  actual  potash  combined 
with  sulphuric  acid;  and  muriate  of  potash,  actual  potash 
combined  with  muriatic  (hydrochloric)  acid. 

In  manufacturing  muriate  of  potash  from  the  crude 
minerals  found  in  the  Stassfurt  mines,  all  lime,  soda,  mag- 
nesia and  other  salts  are  removed.  Crude  carnallit,  as  it 
comes  from  the  mines,  contains  on  an  average  15  per  cent, 
muriate  of  potash;  the  manufacturing  process  consists  in 
separating  this  15  per  cent,  from  the  85  percent,  of  other 
crude  ores,  and  makes  use  of  the  chemical  knowledge  that 
these  other  salts  are  either  more  soluble  or  less  soluble  in 
water  and  other  solutions  than  pure  muriate  of  potash. 
The  coarsely  ground  carnallit  is  "  charged  "  into  a  large 
dissolving  vat  containing  a  boiling,  saturated  solution  of 
magnesium  chloride  (a  by-product  of  the  process,  as  shown 
later).  The  mixture  is  agitated  thoroughly  by  means  of  a 
' '  blow-up, "  or  live  steam  jet,  an#4s  boiled  until  it  shows  a 
degree  of  concentration  equal  to  32  degrees  Beaume.  The 
contents  are  then  drawn  off  into  settling  tanks,  from  which 
the  clear  solution  is  run  into  crystallizing  vats  and  left  three 
or  four  days  to  cool  and  crystallize,  the  deposit  containing 
about  60  per  cent,  pure  muriate  of  potash.  The  liquors 
drawn  from  the  crystallizing  vats  are  boiled  down  (now 
almost  exclusively  in  a  vacuum  apparatus,  but  formerly  in 
open  pans),  during  which  process  some  chloride  of  sodium 
and  sulphate  of  magnesium  fall  out.  This  second  solution 
settles  and  runs  into  crystallizing  vats  where  practically  all 


30       MANUFACTURING  THE  CONCENTRATED  SALTS. 

the  potash  separated  as  crystals  of  pure  artificial  mineral 
carnallit  (KCl,  MgCb,  6H2O),  which  is  treated  precisely 
as  was  the  crude  carnallit  and  gives  a  nearly  pure  muriate 
of  potassium  in  one  crystallization. 

The  crystallized  muriate  of  potash  thus  produced  is 
contaminated  by  chlorides  of  sodium  and  magnesium, 
through  adhereing  solutions,  and  these  impurities  are  re- 
moved by  a  series  of  washings  with  water.  The  liquor 
from  these  washings  of  the  crystals  is  saved  and  used  on 
fresh  batches  of  the  mineral  ore.  The  crystals  of  muriate 
of  potash  are  dried,  after  washing,  and  are  from  70  to  99 
per  cent.  pure.  (KCl).  The  last  ''mother  liquors,"  or 
solutions  from  the  crystallizing  vats,  (from  which  all  the 
potash  has  been  separated)  are  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
bromine  and  chloride  of  magnesium. 

The  muriate  of  potash  (chloride  of  potassium)  manu- 
factured at  Stassfurt  is  of  various  grades  and  contains 
actual  potash  in  the  following  proportions: 

PURE  MURIATE  OF  POTASH.  ACTUAL  POTASH. 


70  to  75  per  cent.  contains  46.7  per  oent. 

Soto  85     "     "  ''  52.7    "       '' 

90  to  95     "     "  ''  57.9    "       " 

98     "      "  "  62.0    "       " 

When  sold  for  fertilizing  purposes,  it  is  on  the  basis  of 
80  per  cent,  pure  muriate  of  potash,  corresponding  to  50.5 
per  cent,  actual  potash.  The  price  is  based  on  this  average 
and  is  increased  or  decreased  according  to  the  percentage 


manuf'acturinG  the  coj^centrated  salts.  31 

above  or  below  it  of  pure  muriate  contained,  as  shown  by 
chemical  analysis.  Muriate  of  potash  serves  as  a  basis  for 
the  manufacture  of  many  other  potash  salts,  such  as  nitrates, 
chlorates,  etc. 

There  are  many  by-products  in  the  manufacture  of 
muriate  of  potash,  notably  magnesium  chloride  and  sulphate 
of  soda,  which  later,  owing  to  its  purity  and  freedom  from 
acid  salts,  is  largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  cheaper 
grades  of  glass.  From  the  residuum  of  the  first  solution  of 
carnallit,  treated  with  cold  water,  kieserit  (sulphate  of 
magnesia)  settles  out  in  fine  crystalline  particles,  and  is 
moulded  into  blocks.  I^arge  quantities  of  bromine  and 
iron  bromide  are  obtained  at  the  end  of  the  process.  Some 
of  the  Stassfurt  factories  also  prepare  calcined  magnesia, 
hydrate  of  magnesia,  calcium  chloride,  carbonate  of  potash, 
carbonate  of  potash-magnesia,  etc. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  complete  extraction  of  potash,  the 
processes  of  manufacture  are  complex,  and  solutions  and 
salts  require  repeated  handling.  It  naturally  follows  that 
the  separation  of  commercially  pure  salts,  from  solutions  of 
other  salts,  is  an  expensive  process,  and  that  it  is  only  by  the 
most  painstaking  care  and  full  utilization  of  every  pos- 
sible by-product,  that  potash  salts  can  be  produced  and  sold 
at  the  present  low  prices. 

Sulphate  of  Potash  is  manufactured  in  less  quan- 
tities than  muriate,  owing  to  smaller  demand  for  it  in  the 
market;  but  its  consumption  is  rapidly  increasing.  There 
are  several  processes  of  manufacture.     The  one  in  general 


32       MANUFACTURING  THE  CONCENTRATED  SALTS. 

use  is  to  concentrate  a  solution  of  kainit  to  a  certain  specific 
gravity,  and  then  allow  it  to  cool  slowly  in  large  crystal- 
lizing vats.  The  resulting  crystals  are  washed  and  dried, 
and  from  the  commercial  salt  sulphate  of  potash-magnesia, 
containing  generally  40  per  cent,  of  sulphate  of  potash, 
but  when  calcined  48  per  cent.  In  the  manufacture  of 
sulphate  of  potash  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  potash-magnesia 
and  a  given  quantity  of  muriate  of  potash  are  bQiled 
together,  whereupon  the  less  soluble  sulphate  of  potash 
separates  and  falls  as  a  precipitate,  after  which  the  solution 
is  boiled  down  to  a  certain  specific  gravity,  and  cooled 
slowly  in  crystallizing  vats,  where  the  potash  separates  as 
crystals  of  sulphate  of  potash.  As  it  is  sold  it  varies  from 
90  to  96  per  cent,  pure,  equivalent  to  46  to  52  per  cent, 
actual  potash. 

The  tables  on  page  35  give  the  average  analyses  of  the 
more  important  Stassfurt  potash  salts.  The  figures  show 
the  pounds  of  various  substances  in  100  pounds  of  the  dif- 
ferent salts. 

The  numerous  by-products  obtained  in  refining  the 
crude  potash  salts  are  utilized  in  many  ways  and  for  various 
purposes.  Some  of  them  contain  20  to  30  per  cent,  actual 
potash,  but  in  most  cases  in  such  combination  as  not  to  pay 
for  necessarily  expensive  extraction.  Because  of  this  com- 
paratively large  content  of  potash,  however,  they  are  dried, 
calcined,  pulverized,  and  mixed  with  crude  salts,  or  other 
poorer  forms  of  potash,  to  increase  the  potash  content  of 
these  salts  and  give  them  added  value  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. 


MANUFACTURING  THE  CONCENTRATED  SALTS.       33 

Besides  the  agricultural,  soil-restoring,  plant-feeding  use 
of  potash  salts,  large  quantities  are  consumed  by  the  chemi- 
cal industry  in  Germany,  the  United  States  and  other 
countries,  in  the  manufacture  of  carbonate  of  potash, 
caustic  potash,  nitrate  of  potash,  chlorate  of  potash, 
chromate  and  bichromate  of  potash,  alum,  cyanide  of 
potash,  bromide  of  potash,  permanganate  of  potash,  yellow 
prussiate,  and  other  compounds.  The  many  sided  technical 
and  industrial  activity  of  the  age,  in  almost  every  trade, 
must  have  potash  in  one  form  or  another.  Doctors,  photo- 
graphers, painters,  dyers,  cleaners,  bleachers,  weavers,  soap- 
makers  and  electricians  use  it,  while  the  modern  rapid, 
cheap  production  of  artificial  cold,  of  preservatives,  fire- 
works, gunpowder,  matches,  paper,  glass  and  aniline  dyes, 
and  the  extraction  of  gold  from  its  ores  are  impossible 
without  it.  While  applications  are  thus  without  number,  it 
is  of  greatest  importance  in  agriculture  in  supplying  plant 
food. 


34 


MANUFACTURING  THE  CONCENTRATED  SALTS. 

Crude  Salts  (Natural  Products.) 


Actual  Potash  (KjO) 

Minimum  Guarantee  (KgO)  . . . 
Sulphate  ot  Potash  (K2SO4)  . . . 

Muriate  of  Potash  (KCl) 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia  (MgS04). 
Chloride  of  Magnesia  (MgClg). 

Chloride  of  Sodium  (NaCl) 

Sulphate  of  Lime  (CaS04) 

Insoluble  Substances 

Water 


KAINIT.  CARNALLIT.        SYLVINIT, 


12, 
12, 
21. 

2. 
14. 
12. 
34. 

]. 

0. 
12, 


9.8% 
9.0% 

12. w 

21.5^ 

22.4^ 

19^ 

0.5% 

26.1% 


11.4% 

12  A% 
1.5% 

26. -6% 
2.A% 
2.6% 

56.7^ 
2.S% 
S.2% 


Sulphates  (nearly  free  of  Chlorides.) 


Actual  Potash  (K2O) 

Minimum  Guarantee  (K„0)  . . 
Sulphate  of  Potash  (K^SO^)  . . 

Muriate  of  Potash  (KCl) 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia  (MgS04 
Chloride  of  Magnesia  (MgCla) 

Chloride  of  Sodium  (NaCl) 

Sulphate  of  Lime  (CaS04) 

Insoluble  Substances 

Water 


SULPHATE  OF  POTASH. 


(90^) 


49  9^ 
48.6^ 
90.6^ 
1.6,^ 
2.7% 
1.0$? 
1.2% 
0.4j? 
0.3^ 
2.2^ 


52.7^ 
51.8f» 
97.25S 
0.35^ 
0.7^ 
0.4^ 
0.2^ 

o.d% 

0.2^ 
0.7^ 


SULPHATE 
OF  POTASH- 
MAGNESIA. 


27.2^ 
25.9^ 
50.4^ 


34.0^ 

'2.'5^ 
0.9% 
0.6^ 

11.6^ 


Salts   Containing   Chlorides. 


Actual  Potash 

Minimum  Guarantee. . 

Sulphaie  of  Potash 

Muriate  of  Potash 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia. 
Chloride  of  Magnesia. 
Chloride  of  Sodium. . . 

Sulphate  of  L)me 

Insoluble  Substances.. 
Water 


MURIATE    OF    POTASH. 


57  9% 
56.8^ 


91.7^ 
0.2^ 
0.2% 
1.1% 


0.2^ 
0.6^ 


52  7% 
50.5^ 


83.5^ 
0.4^ 
0.3^ 

14.5,^ 


0  2% 
1.1% 


ro/75^ 


46.7^ 

44.1% 
1  7% 

72.5^ 
0  8% 
0.6^ 

21.2^ 
0  2% 
0.5% 
2.5^ 


POTASH  MANURE  SALTS. 


MIN.  20,'?  MIN 


21.0^ 
20.0$? 

2.0^ 
31  6% 
10  6% 

5.S% 
40.2% 

2.1% 

4.0,'? 

4.2% 


30.6^ 

30.0^ 
1.2,'^ 

47.6,% 
9.4% 
4.8/f 

26.2?i 
2.2^ 
3  5% 
5.1^ 


< 

H 
O 
fu 

Q 

Pi 
U 

C5 

z 

Q 
Z 

S 
o 

erf 
O 
'A 


COMMERCIAL   STATEMENT* 

For  fifty  years  the  world's  demand  for  potash  has  grown 
rapidly  until  to-day  it  is  over  five  million  tons  per  year, 
and  the  Stassfurt  industry  alone  enables  this  demand  to  be 
satisfied. 

Previous  to  the  discovery  of  the  Stassfurt  deposits, 
potash,  as  used  in  the  arts,  was  derived  chiefly,  as  its  name 
implies,  from  the  leaching  of  wood  ashes.  The  supply  to 
be  had  from  wood  ashes  and  condensed  hull  ashes  is  lim- 
ited. About  2,000  tons  of  muriate  of  potash  are  annually 
made  in  the  south  of  France,  by  evaporating  sea-water,  and 
the  Scottish  manufacture  of  iodine  from  kelp  yields  perhaps 
1,000  to  1,200  tons  yearly  of  muriate  and  sulphate,  as  by- 
products. There  are  few  other  minor  sources  of  supply, 
such  as  nitrate  of  potash  from  India,  wool-washing  residues 
(suint  potash),  and  potash  from  beet  sugar  residues. 

In  1884  the  various  mines  producing  potash  were  com- 
bined under  a  central  office.  The  organization  now  in- 
cludes forty-five  mines: 

This  combination  has  about  270  executive  officers,  in- 
cluding representatives  in  foreign  countries,  while  the  mines 
themselves  employ  in  round  numbers,  1,300  officers  and 
30,000  laborers,  and  use  800  boilers  and  900  steam  engines 
with  75,000  horse  power.  Kach  of  the  works  has  its  own 
railroad  track,  connecting  with  the  main  line,  and,  in 
some  cases,  this  reaches  a  length  of  about  73>^  miles,  and 
most  of  the  works  have  their  own  locomotives  and  railroad 
cars. 

The  daily  output  varies,  but  in  the  best  seasons  of  the 
year,  which  are  the  spring  and  fall,  it  reaches  as  high  as 
2,300  carloads  of  ten  tons  each.  The  following  table 
gives  the  production  of  crude  salts,  from  the  commence- 
ment of  mining  to  the  close  of  1906. 


COMMERCIAL    STATEMENT. 


41 


Production  of  Crude  Salts. 

(Metric  Tons  of  2,204  lbs.) 


KAINIT 

ROCK 

YEAR 

CARNALLIT. 

KIESERIT. 

SYLV 

[NIT.          AND 

HARTSALZ. 

TOTAL. 

1861 

2,293 

2,293 

1863 

19,727 

■"26 

.  .  .              .... 

19.747 

1863 

58,304 

68 

58.372 

1864 

115.409 

89 

115.498 

1865 

87,671 

75 

'. '. '.            I'M'i 

89,060 

1866 

135,554 

414 

5,808 

141,776 

1867 

141,604 

1,144 

8,974 

151,722 

1868 

167,337 

1,418 

10,772 

179,527 

1869 

211,884 

227 

16,857 

228,968 

1870 

268,226 

71 

20,301 

288,598 

1871 

335,945 

47 

36,582 

372,574 

1872 

468,538 

23 

18,067 

486,628 

1873 

441,079 

8 

6,101 

447,188 

1874 

414,961 

16 

9,753 

424,730 

1875 

498,737 

5 

24,124 

522,866 

1876 

563.669 

145 

17,938 

581,752 

1877 

771.819 

152 

35,477 

807,448 

1878 

735,750 

520 

34,004 

770,274 

1879 

610,427 

761 

50,207 

661,395 

1880 

528,2i2 

893 

139,491 

668,596 

1881 

744,726 

2,082 

158,330 

905,138 

1882 

1,059,300 

4,658 

148,477 

1,212,435 

1883 

950,203 

11,791 

228,817 

1,190,811 

1884 

739,959 

12,389 

217,107 

969,455 

1885 

644,710 

11,970 

272,370 

929.050 

1886 

698,229 

13,918 

247,327 

959,474 

.  1887 

840  207 

14,186 

237,629 

1,092,022 

1888 

849,603 

10.754 

2, 

220  ^ '    375,574 

1,238,151 

1889 

798,721 

9,354 

28, 

329       362,611 

1,199,015 

1890 

838,526 

6,951 

31 

917       401,871 

1,279.265 

1891 

818,862 

5,816 

32, 

661       512.494 

1,369.833 

1892 

736,751 

5,783 

32, 

669.       585,775 

1  360,978 

1893 

794,660 

4,807 

49, 

140       689,994 

1,538,601 

1894 

851,339 

3,865 

63, 

495       729,301 

1,648,000 

1895 

782,944 

3,012 

76, 

097       669,532 

1,531  585 

1896 

856,223 

2,841 

90. 

390       883,025 

1.782,479 

1897 

851,272 

2,619 

84, 

105      1,012,186 

1.950,182 

1898 

990,998 

2,444 

94, 

270      1,120,616 

2.208,328 

1899 

1,317,948 

2,066 

100, 

653      1,063,195 

2,483,862 

1900 

1,697,803 

2,047 

147, 

791      1,189,394 

3  037,035 

1901 

1,860,189 

2,335 

190. 

034      1,432,136 

3,484,694 

1902 

1,705,665 

1,821 

188, 

821      1,354,528 

3.250,835 

1903 

1,844,037 

1,553 

196, 

140      1,582,867 

3,624,598 

1904 

1,911,166 

1,056 

234, 

455      1,906,823 

4.053,500 

1905 

2,239,710 

2,731 

230, 

622      2  405,536 

4,878,598 

1906 

2,263,197 

9,191 

284, 

944      2,754,572 

5,311,903 

42 


COMMERCIAL    STATEMENT. 


These  salts  were  either  sold  directly  from  the  mines, 
for  agricultural  purposes,  or  manufactured  into  more  con- 
centrated potash  products  for  use  in  agriculture,  or  in  the 
arts  and  other  manufactures.  The  table  on  page  43  shows 
the  use  made  of  the  various  salts,  from  1880  to  the  close  of 
1906.  The  greater  part  of  the  crude  salts,  manufactured 
into  concentrated  products,  was  converted  into  muriate  of 
potash.  The  following  table  gives,  in  metric  tons  of 
2,204  pounds  each,  full  detailed  data  as  to  the  various  con- 
centrated salts  produced  from  1884  to  the  close  of  1906. 

Production  of  Concentrated  Potash  Salts. 

(Metric  Tons  of  2,204  lbs.) 


SULPHATE    OF 

Q     . 

MURIATE 

SULPHATE 

POTASH 

-MAGNESIA. 

h  5  C5 
!^  '^  td 

OF 

OF 

POTASH 

KIESERIT 

rt  Q  z 

YEAR. 

POTASH 

POTASH 

CRYST- 

CAL- 

MANURE 

IN 

w  5  S 
X  ?:  tj 

80  PER 

90  PER 

ALLIZED 

CINED 

SALT. 

BLOCKS. 

W  D  J 
■"*    O    -< 

CENT. 

CENT. 

40  PER 
CENT. 

48     PER 
CENT. 

V  i-;  ^ 

-  K  u 

O 

1884 

106,380 

3  000 

400 

8.000 

9,500 

17,800 

1885 

104,  .-00 

4,000 

450 

9,000 

8,400 

18,500 

1886 

110,200 

3,639 

475 

10  111 

8.161 

19,500 

188T 

130,000 

10.528 

500 

6,285 

8,163 

24.018 

1888 

132,000 

10,916 

52  ■^ 

11,380 

13,918 

28,325 

1889 

131,593 

7,321 

671 

9,215 

17,285 

31,824 

1890 

134,760 

13.839 

907 

10,830 

17.620 

32,005 

1891 

143,488 

18,981 

1,053 

11,400 

16,045 

28.559 

1892 

121.028 

15.466 

708 

11,84-i 

16,895 

23.855 

"'ii 

1893 

132,529 

16,361 

739 

12,643 

17.344 

24,386 

105 

1894 

147,936 

15,243 

1,780 

12,718 

19,728 

26.440 

216 

189.5 

145,027 

13.403 

898 

8  249 

19,724 

25,115 

142 

189(5 

155,805 

13,889 

1.051 

4,622 

19,253 

24,987 

211 

1897 

158,863 

15,403 

922 

7,415 

23,042 

25.669 

214 

1898 

174.380 

17,781 

914 

10,535 

24,284 

19,934 

728 

1899 

180.672 

24.656 

579 

8,4.=)9 

70,916 

28.216 

260 

1900 

206,471 

31,2?>5 

933 

12.150 

129,863 

28,.^08 

358 

1901 

211,421 

28,196 

936 

11,750 

147  170 

26.727 

361 

1902 

191,039 

30,202 

600 

16,834 

139,32t) 

26,809 

767 

1903 

1      206,347 

34,807 

778 

22.296 

161,786 

23,509 

548 

1904 

235,298 

39.447 

775 

27,672 

196,860 

26,471 

463 

1905 

254,711 

42,420 

718 

30.589 

215  408 

35,003 

600 

1906 

1      279,320 

51,198 

834 

37,110 

278.3^5 

29,411 

632 

COMME^RCIAL   STATEMENT . 


43 


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Consumption  of  Potash  5alts  in  United  States 
1895  to  1906  inc. 


Potas/i  Manure  Salt. 
Sulfate  of  Potash. 
Muriate  of  Potash. 
Kainit  d  S^lyinit. 


% 


1895        'SB  '^^  98  98  1900       '01  '08  '03         '04  '05'         '06 


COMMERCIAL    STATEMENT. 


45 


The  chart  on  page  44  illustrates  the  consumption  of  the 
various  Potash  salts  in  the  United  States  for  the  years 
1895  to  the  end  of  1906  and  shows  the  progress  of  Potash 
consumption  made  during  that  time. 

The  greater  part  of  the  total  potash  production  as  has 
been  before  stated,  is  used  for  agricultural  purposes, — 
that  is,  as  food  for  plants,  as  the  following  table,  giving 
the  total  amount  of  actual  potash  consumed  in  agriculture 
and  in  the  arts  during  the  years  1890,  1900  and  1906  will 
show: 


1890 

I  goo 

1906 

TONS. 

TONS. 

TONS. 

71,456 

232,820 

470,424 

50,846 

70,  790 

77,167 

Potash  used  for  agricultural  purposes. 
Potash  used  for  industral  purposes. 

The  diagram  on  page  46  is  designed  to  show  graphically 
the  relative  consumption  of  actual  potash  (K2O)  in  agricul- 
ture and  in  the  industries  during  the  years  1889  to  1906. 

The  consumption  of  potash  in  different  countries  is  best 
shown  by  the  table  on  page  47  giving  amounts  of  "actual 
potash  "  used  in  each  case,  on  the  basis  of  a  ton  of  2,204 
pounds.  The  table  on  page  48  points  out  the  consumption 
of  actual  potash  in  pounds  per  100  acres  of  cultivated  land. 
This  is  shown  graphically  in  the  diagram  on  page  49. 
Incidentally  but  strikingly  it  indicates  the  actual  progress 
in  agricultural  development  of  the  different  countries. 

This  relatively  small  consumption  by  the  United  States 
according  to  this  tableis  scarcely  a  just  comparison.  Much 
of  the  cultivated  land  in  this  country  has,  in  the  past,  been 
''  new  "  or  ''  virgin  "  soil,  to  which  no  regular  applications 
of  plant  food  have  been  supplied. 


A  Comparison  of  Amounts  of  Actual  Potash 
used  in  Agriculture  and  the  Industries. 


Germany 

All  other 
Countries 

1 
1       i    / 

,                           Asrriculture 

j Industries 

j  — — . Agriculture 

1 Industries 

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1                 I.I                 1                 1                iJ                 1                 1_IJ 1                H 

1            1 

!              1              1             1              !              ,              1              1              1      _..! ! ! 1 ! 1 

J  180,000  tons. 


1889   l90      '91      '92       '93      '94       '95      '96      '97       '98      '99      1900,  '01      '02       03      '04      '05     1906 


COMMKRCIAI.   STATEMENT. 


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Relative  Consumption  of  Actual  Potash  in  Fertilizers 
in  Different  Countries. 

(Shown  on  basis  of  pounds  per  100  acres  arable  land.) 


Germany 

United  States 


Belgium 

Holland    

France    

England    

Scotland    

Poland  _ 

Spain  — 

Sweden  - 

Norway  - 

Denmark 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  POTASH  IN 
AGRICULTURE. 

What  has  been  already  broadly  stated  merits  closer  and 
detailed  observation  and  study.  Crop  after  crop  taken  from 
the  same  soil,  gradually,  but  nevertheless  surely,  exhausts 
it.  The  yields  diminish  from  year  to  year,  until  a  point  is 
reached  where  once  rich  and  paying  lands  are  tilled  at  a 
loss  or  abandoned  to  weeds.  Mark  the  contrast  in  twenty 
years  of  gradually  shrinking  yields  in  all  directions.  A 
single  example  will  suffice  here.  In  1870  the  average 
potato  yield  was  86.6  bushels  per  acre;  in  1890  it  was  but 
55.8  bushels.  This  gradually  but  surely  diminishing  pro- 
ductiveness is  not  confined  to  one  country,  but  prevails 
universally  wherever  manure  or  fertilizers  are  not  employed 
to  replace  what  is  removed  by  crops .  This  failing,  commonly 
called  "  wearing  out  "  of  the  soil,  is  now  known  to  be  due 
to  exhausting  its  ' '  plant  food, ' '  which  is  the  usual  term  used 
in  speaking  of  the  chemical  substances  necessary  to  plant 
growth.  The  three  essential  plant  food  ingredients  are 
phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen  and  potash;  and  everyone  depend- 
ent upon  the  soil  for  a  living  needs  to  become  thoroughly 
familiar  with  them,  and  their  sources  of  supply  and  relative 
values.  Commercial  fertilizers  derive  their  values  from  the 
percentage  of  these  three  essential  ingredients  which  they 
contain.     This  word    "essential"   is   deliberately  and  ac- 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  POTASH   IN  AGRICULTURE. 


51 


cTirately  used  in  speaking  of  all  three  of  these,  which  fact 
must  not  be  forgotten  in  noting  how  much  space  is  given, 
in  this  work,  to  the  necessity  for  potash.  The  chief  effect  of 
potash  in  plant  life  and  activity  appears  to  be  in  the  forma- 
tion of  starch  and  the  development  of  the  woody  part  in  stems 
and  stalks,  and  the  pulp  and  sugar  in  fruit.  The  amount 
required  for  the  proper  and  best  development  of  a  crop  de- 
pends upon  the  nature  and  weight  of  that  crop.  Different 
growing  plants  have  different  appetites  and  necessities  for 
potash  and  the  amount  of  it  which  they  have  taken  away 
from  the  soil  can  be  accurately  ascertained  by  chemical 
analyses.  The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  pounds 
per  acre  removed  by  an  average  yield  of: 

Grain  and  Hay  in  rotation,     75  lbs.  potash. 


Oats, 

62  '' 

Potatoes, 

•         74  " 

Sugar  Beets,     . 

•      .143  " 

Meadow  Hay,  . 

.         85   - 

Green  Corn,     . 

.       I64,  " 

Tobacco, 

103  " 

A  common  four-year  rotation  of  crops  in  the  northern 
states  is  corn,  wheat,  clover,  timothy.  By  it  the  amount  of 
potash  taken  from  each  acre  is: 

Corn,       yielding  52  bushels,     82  lbs.  Potash. 
Wheat,  "  25       ''  22    " 

Clover,  "  2}i  tons,    120    " 

Timothy,      ''  2  "  94    " 

Total— 318  lbs.  Potash. 


52  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  POTASH  IN  AGRICULTURE. 

This  loss  of  318  lbs.  of  actual  potash  means  an  average 
of  80  pounds  each  year,  or  an  equivalent  of  160  pounds  of 
muriate  of  potash.  This  must  be  replaced  in  the  form  of 
manure  or  fertilizer,  or  poverty  of  soil  rapidly  follows. 

Where  the  fodder  is  fed  to  cattle,  and  the  manure  re- 
turned to  the  soil,  part  of  the  potash  contained  in  the  crop 
is  returned  to  the  soil.  If,  on  a  farm  of  100  cultivated  acres, 
one  third  of  the  required  potash  be  thus  returned  (con- 
siderably more  than  usually  is  saved  in  ordinary  farming), 
there  still  is  5,000  pounds  of  it  annually  removed  from  the 
farm,  which  must  be  replaced  by  some  form  of  potash 
fertilizer,  otherwise  the  original  condition  and  richness  of 
the  soil  cannot  be  maintained.  More  or  less  potash  is 
naturally  present  in  all  soils,  but,  for  the  most  part,  in  an 
insoluble  and  unavailable  form,  excepting  that  very  small 
part  which  is  freed  and  made  accessible  by  the  action  of  the 
elements.  Even  this  original  natural  supply  is  very  lim- 
ited, and  were  it  all  at  once  to  be  rendered  soluble,  it  would 
quickly  be  leached  out  by  rains  and  so  completely  lost. 

In  the  beginning  of  vegetation  easily  soluble  potash  is 
absolutely  essential,  but  it  is  not  generally  present  in  such 
form  even  in  soils  which  contain  a  fair  supply  of  it.  The 
importance  of  potash  salts  in  agriculture,  therefore,  is  evi- 
dent: farmers  must  use  them  to  make  good  the  losses  due 
to  the  growing  and  selling  of  crops.  In  this  connection  it 
is  worthy  of  especial  note  that  a  part  of  the  fertilizing  sub- 
stances contained  in  barnyard  manure  is  insoluble,  and  so 
unavailable, — useless  as  plant  food.     This  has  been  practi- 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  POTASH  IN  AGRICULTURE.  53 

cally  demonstrated  by  long,  careful  tests  made  at  the  Ex- 
periment Station  at  Rothamsted,  England.  For  42  years  a 
section  of  land  was  treated  with  farmyard  manure  at  the  rate 
of  14  tons  per  year;  during  the  same  period  an  equal  section, 
of  the  same  character,  received  chemical  manures.  The 
actual  plant  food  applied  per  acre  each  year  in  each  case, 
and  the  average  yield  of  wheat  was: 

IN    FARMYARD    MANURE.  IN    CHEMICALS. 

Nitrogen,  200  lbs.  no  lbs. 

Potash,  160  lbs.  100  lbs. 

Phosphoric  Acid,  no  lbs.  87  lbs. 

Yield  of  grain,  32.25  bushels.         39.75  bushels. 

The  plant  food  in  the  farmyard  manure,  though  applied 
in  great  excess,  as  compared  with  the  chemical  manures, 
failed  to  give  as  good  results.  This  was  undoubtedly  be- 
cause a  large  part  of  the  potash  and  phosphates  in  the  farm- 
yard manure  was  unavailable,  and  could  not  be  fed  upon 
by  the  growing  plants.  ~  - 

Scientists  and  practical  farmers  agree  that  the  by-pro- 
ducts of  the  farm  (farmyard  manure)  returned  to  the  soil, 
are  not  sufficient  to  keep  it  fertile,  and  the  loss  by  cropping 
must  be  made  good  by  applying  chemicals  : — nitrogen,  in 
the  form  of  nitrate  of  soda,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  tankage, 
fish  scraps,  etc.,  or  by  growing  cow  peas,  clovers  and  other 
legumes,  which  absorb  nitrogen  from  the  air.  The  main 
source  of  the  potash  supply  is  the  Stassfurt  potash  salts, 
while  mineral  phosphates  and  bone  products  are  depended 
on  for  phosphoric  acid.     Chemical  manures  have  an  advan- 


54 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  POTASH  IN  AGRICULTURE. 


tage  over  those  of  the  farmyard,  in  that  they  are  readily 
available,  cheaper  and  more  agreeable  to  handle,  besides 
being  free  from  weed  seeds  and  disease  germs,  which  some- 
times occur  in  the  farm  products. 

In  1900  the  United  States  consumed  a  total  of  about 
2,600,000  tons  of  fertilizers,  having  an  average  composition 
of  2  per  cent,  ammonia,  3  per  cent,  actual  potash  and  9  per 
cent,  available  phosphoric  acid.  Thus,  the  consumption  of 
the  three  necessary  elements  of  plant  food, — potash,  nitro- 
gen and  phosphoric  acid  was  : 

Nitrogen,         52,000  tons. 

Potash, 78,000     " 

Phosphoric  Acid, 234,000     " 

To  show  the  number  of  pounds  of  potash  taken  from  the 
soil  for  each  100  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  a  table  of  the 
leading  crops  is  here  given.  100  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid 
is  taken  as  the  basis,  and  the  comparison  shows  the  prob- 
able exhaustion  of  potash  in  the  soil. 


CROPS. 

PHOSPHORIC    ACID. 

POTASH. 

Wheat, 

.TOO  lbs. 

246  lbs 

Corn, 

100     " 

173  " 

Timothy, 

100     " 

378  '' 

Clover, 

100     " 

456  " 

Barley, 

100     " 

335  " 

Potatoes, 

100     " 

219   " 

Tobacco, 

100     " 

475   " 

Cotton, 

100     " 

325  " 

Oats, 

100    " 

250  " 

Average,  100  lbs. 


318  lbs. 


THE    IMPORTANCE     OF    POTASH     IN    AGRICULTURE.  55 

For  every  loo  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  taken  from  the 
soil,  the  average  is  318  pounds  of  potash.  According  to 
this,  instead  of  using  only  125,000  tons  of  actual  potash, 
the  farmers  of  the  United  States  should  have  used  about 
744,120  tons, — in  order  to  replace  that  which  was  taken 
from  the  soil  by  the  growing  crops  in  a  single  year. 

The  plant  food  represented  in  the  above  figures  is  based 
on  actual  fertilizer  consumption: — the  234,000  tons  of  phos- 
phoric acid  were  undoubtedly  needed,  and  the  744,120  tons 
of  potash  just  as  much  so. 


ARTICHOKES,    WITHOUT    FERTILIZER. 


ARTICHOKES,   FERTILIZED  WITH  POTASH,    PHOSPHORIC    ACID  AND  NITROGEN, 
EXPERIMENTS    MADE   AT  SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.   C. 


SWEET    POTATOES    FERTILIZED    WITH    PHOSPHORIC    ACID    AND    NITROGEN. 
YIELD    PER    ACRE:     I22k    BUSHELS. 


SWEET    POTATOES.    FERTILIZED    WITH    POTASH,    PHOSPHORIC   ACID    AND 
NITROGEN.       YIELD    PER    ACRE:    25©    BUSHELS. 


EXPERIMENTS    MADE   AT  SOUTHERN    PINES,    N.    C. 


POTASH  SALTS  FOR  FERTILIZING. 

The  most  important  of  the  potash  salts  used  and  in 
demand  for  agricultural  purposes,  with  their  percentages  of 
actual  potash,  are  : 

PER    CENT.  POUNDS   ACTUAL    POTASH 

ACTUAL  POTASH.       PER    TON  OF  2,000    LBS. 

Muriate  of  Potash,                       50  i  ,000 

Sulphate  of  Potash,                      50  to  55  1,000  to  1,100 

Sulphate  of  Potash-Magnesia,  27  to  30  540  to      600 

Kainit,                                             12^^  250 

Manure  Salt,  min.  20^,              20  to  21  400  to      420 

The  practical  farmer  is  frequently  confronted  with  the 
question:  "  Which  of  these  potash  salts  shall  I  use,  and 
how  must  I  apply  to  get  the  best  results?"  the  following 
explanations  and  suggestions  help  him  to  answer. 

Muriate  of  Potash  is  the  cheapest  source  of  potash 
particularly  in  sections  remote  from  the  sea  ports.  This  is 
because  it  is  a  concentrated  article.  One  half  of  its  weight 
is  pure  potash,  and  it  relatively  costs  much  less  in  trans- 
portation than  those  products  containing  greater  bulk  and 
weight,  but  a  lower  percentage  of  potash.  Muriate  is  the 
principal  source  of  potash  employed  in  commercial  fertili- 
zers and  is  well  suited  for  most  agricultural  crops.  It  con- 
tains considerable  chlorine  (46  per  cent.)  w^hich  substance  is 
considered  injurious  to  the  quality  of  smoking  tobacco,  for 
which  crop  sulphate  of  potash,  although  higher  in  price, 
should  always  be  used.  Many  farmers  likewise  use  sulphate 
in  preference  to  the  muriate  on  oranges,  sugar  cane, 
potatoes,  fruits  and  tender  vegetables,  believing  that  the 
better   quality  produced  compensates  for  the  greater  cost. 


POTASH  SALTS  FOR  FERTILIZING.  6 1 

However,  deleterious  effects  on  quality  of  the  product  can 
usually  be  avoided  by  applying  the  muriate  of  potash 
several  months  preceding  the  planting  of  the  crop.  By  this 
previous  application,  the  injurious  chlorine  contained  in 
the  muriate  of  potash  is  washed  down  by  the  rains  into  the 
subsoil,  while  the  valuable  constituent,  potash,  remains 
fixed  in  the  surface-soil  until  it  can  be  made  use  of  by  the 
growing  plants.  When  muriate  of  potash  is  used  regu- 
larly as  a  source  of  potash,  it  is  desirable  that  the  land 
receive  a  dressing  of  lime  about  once  in  five  years.  This 
will  heighten  the  effect  to  the  muriate. 

Sulphate  of  Potash,  and  Sulphate  of  Potash=Magnesia. 
These  potash  salts,  especially  the  first  mentioned,  are  the 
safest  potash  fertilizers  to  use  under  all  conditions.  The 
sulphate  is  always  preferred  to  tobacco  growing,  also  for 
oranges,  sugar  cane  and  tender  vegetables.  It  deserves 
preference  on  soils  inclined  to  be  sour,  and  can  be  used  in 
large  quantities,  for  years  in  succession,  without  necessitat- 
ing the  use  of  heavy  applications  of  lime,  which  are  needed 
when  muriate  or  kainit  is  extensively  used.  Sulphate  of 
potash  is  the  most  expensive  source  of  potash,  and  for  this 
reason  is  not  as  universally  used  as  the  muriate  of  potash. 

Manure  Salt  is  another  source  of  potash,  of  which  it 
contains  20  per  cent.  It  is  similar  in  its  effect  to  kainit 
and  may  be  used  instead,  but  neither  one  is  recommended 
for  tobacco,  oranges,  or  in  any  case  where  there  would  be 
objection  to  muriate;  in  all  such  cases  sulphate  of  potash 
should  be  taken. 


62  POTASH  SALTS  FOR  FERTILIZING. 

Kainit,  as  previously  explained,  is  a  raw  product  and 
contains  only  one-fourth  as  much  actual  potash  as  the 
muriate  of  potash.  It  is  much  cheaper  per  ton,  though  the 
potash  in  it  costs  more  pound  for  pound  than  in  the 
muriate,  because  of  the  freight,  which  has  to  be  paid  on 
the  whole  mass  regardless  of  the  potash  contained  in  it.  It 
is  frequently  preferred  to  the  muriate  on  account  of  its 
marked  effect  in  ridding  the  soil  of  injurious  insects,  (cut 
worms,  w^hite  grubs,  onion  maggots,  etc.^.  It  is  also  highly 
esteemed  in  the  cotton-producing  states  as  a  valuable  pre- 
ventive or  remedy  in  ' '  cotton  blight. ' '  Mangel  wurzel  and 
other  cattle  beets  and  asparagus  are  particularly  benefited 
by  kainit.  It  is  most  effective  as  a  preserver  of  stable 
manure,  and  many  practical  farmers,  though  knowing  that 
muriate  of  potash  is  cheaper,  still  prefer  the  kainit,  because 
it  is  less  concentrated,  and  requires  less  caution  in  mixing 
with  other  fertilizers  and  making  composts.  In  sections 
remote  from  the  sea  ports  it  may  be  so  expensive  (because 
of  freight)  as  to  make  muriate  of  potash  decidedly  more 
economical.  General  experience  has  taught  that  on  light 
soils  its  effects  are  ver}^  beneficial,  but  on  heavy  ones 
muriate  of  potash  is  to  be  preferred. 

The  following  table  is  arranged  in  two  groups  to  dis- 
tinguished between  those  which  contain  chlorides  and  those 
which  do  not : 

CONTAINING    CHLORIDES.  FREE    OF    CHLORIDES. 

Muriate  of  Potash.     Sulphate  of  Potash. 

Kainit.  .Sulphate  of  Potash-Magnesia. - 

Manure  Salt. 


POTASH  SALTS  FOR  FERTILIZING.  63 

Those  in  the  first  group  can  be  used  with  safety  upon 
most  agricultural  crops,  whereas  those  of  the  second  should 
have  preference  for  tobacco,  oranges,  or  wherever  special 
quality  of  fruit  is  essential,  and  wherever  the  more  valuable 
result  or  return  will  justify  the  use  of  the  higher  priced 
fertilizer. 

As  previously  explained,  potash  is  only  one  of  the  three 
essential  plant  food  ingredients  ;  the  others  are  phosphoric 
acid  and  nitrogen,  and  all  three  are  of  equal  importance  in 
plant  life.  To  rnake  potash  fully  effective  as  a  fertilizer,  it  is 
necessary  to  use  it  jointly  with  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen, 
each  in  proper  proportion .  No  one  of  these  three  ingredients 
can  take  the  place  of  another  in  plant  feeding,  nor  can  an  ex- 
cess of  any  one  compensate  for  a  deficiency  of  a  second. 
Potash  salts  should  not  be  used  alone,  except  in  rare  cases 
when  soils  are  so  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen,  as 
compared  with  potash,  that  the  latter  alone  is  needed.  In 
most  cases,  however,  in  order  to  produce  the  best  effects,  it  is 
necessary  to  use  potash  salts  jointly  with  material  supply- 
ing phosphoric  acid  (acid  phosphate,  etc.)  and  nitrogen 
(nitrate  of  soda,  fish  and  meat  refuse,  cottonseed  meal  and 
others).  A  mixture  of  these  three  ingredients  is  called  a 
"  complete  fertilizer, "  and  complete  fertilizers,  as  sold  in 
the  market,  contain  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  in 
different  proportions  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  various 
crops.  Bach  farmer,  therefore,  must  be  governed  by  his 
particular  needs  in  buying  fertilizers.  The  value  of  the  fer- 
tilizer,   as    already  pointed    out,    depends   entirely  on  the 


64  POTASH  SALTS  FOR  FERTILIZING. 

amount  of  potash,  phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  it  contains. 
If  potash  is  bought  separately,  then  the  other  two  necessary 
plant  food  ingredients  must  be  supplied  also,  or  else  that 
which  is  supplied  may  be  a  practical  waste  and  all  crops 
fail.  In  the  rational  use  of  fertilizers,  close  attention  must 
be  given  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  upon  which  they  are  to  be 
used,  since  soils  differ  even  from  one  season  to  another, 
depending  on  the  preceeding  crops  grown  and  what  they 
have  removed  from  the  soil  as  well  as  on  its  original 
formation  and  composition .  All  this  must  be  made  a  careful 
study  on  the  part  of  the  farmer  if  he 'wishes  to  apply 
fertilizers  to  the  best  advantage  and  greatest  profit. 

In  conclusion  every  farmer  is  advised  to  study  the  work 
of  the  Experiment  Stations  in  the  different  States,  as  they 
have  been  established  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
practical  field  trials  to  find  out  which  combinations  of  plant 
food  are  best  suited  to  the  various  soils  and  crops.  The 
results  are  of  value  and  importance  to  all  those  who  earn 
their  living  by  tilling  the  soil.  Time,  money  and  labor  can 
be  saved  in  this  way,  but  the  real  progressive  farmer  will 
not  only  keep  himself  informed  about  the  experience  of 
others,  but  will  also,  to  a  certain  extent,  experiment  on  his 
own  account,  to  learn  which  methods  of  cultivation,  rotation 
and  fertilization  can  be  practiced  with  the  greatest  benefit 
and  profit  to  himself.  But  whatever  his  conditions,  potash 
— the  producer  of  starch,  sugar  and  strength  of  fiber — 
must  not  be  allowed  to  run  down  in  the  soils  which  grow 
his  crops. 


1^  UNZ  *  CO.,   PRINTIRS,  84  »R«ABWAY,  NBW  Y' 


